8 Career Benefits of an Internship

Are you a recent grad or recently unemployed job-seeker? Feeling a bit lost when it comes to the next steps in your career? Maybe you’re uncertain about the specific job title or industry where you’d like to stake a permanent workforce claim? These are just a few of the reasons why someone, yourself included, should consider taking a good hard look at an internship for their next position. Need more convincing? Here are 8 career benefits of an internship that you may not have thought about.

Professional Connections

If you haven’t heard it yet, let us be the first to tell you, networking is everything in the professional world. Getting friendly with and learning the names of the big players in your field can open doors now and in the future when you’re hunting for that big break or c-suite level gig. Internships allow you to build connections and expand your professional Rolodex.

Career Skills

If you’re switching careers or just starting out, internships can be excellent ways to help pick up invaluable skills. Employers are often reluctant to hire someone without experience given the amount of time they’ll have to invest in training. Pad your resume and your skillset with on the job training and you’ll become a lucrative opportunity for future employers.

A Way to Apply Your Skills

We all started out on our career paths with that wide-eyed aspiration to perform fulfilling work. Part of achieving that goal requires that you first identify just what it is that you excel at. During an internship, you’ll be exposed to a variety of tasks and potentially departments. Maybe you’re better at organizing data or have excellent interpersonal skills. An internship will help you exercise those traits with a goal towards flushing out where you perform best.

Insight into Your Interests

On a similar note, a college education alone doesn’t always leave you clued in as to what type of work makes you happy. Internships are excellent for identifying and testing out what type of career you find interesting. Perhaps you had an obscure desire to help people. Interning with a doctor, advocate or social worker, or in a large organization that has numerous roles such as these, will go a long ways toward keeping you engaged in your long-term career.

Experience Company Culture

You may have been the best dorm president your school has ever seen, but this doesn’t mean you’re ready to step into the boardroom immediately after hanging up your cap and gown. During an internship, you’ll gain invaluable exposure to company culture. Maybe your particular choice of employer isn’t as friendly and has fewer opportunities for teamwork that you’d prefer? Better to find that out during your internship than further down the employment line.

Compensation

Many people have the Hollywood idea of unpaid interns being overworked and generally derided. In reality, internships do and should have valuable compensation methods for their participants. From stipends to a course credit to job recommendations, internships should be substantively valuable as well as metaphorically.

New Skills

In addition to identifying and honing the skills you already possess, an internship is likely to grace workers with far more skills than they started the position with. The trick to maximizing this opportunity is to find a great mentor in the program. With the right guidance and leadership, a mentor can help expand your skill set to areas you may not have previously considered.

A Job

When it comes to the great benefits of an internship, we’ve saved the best for last. Many companies use internships as a trial program for new candidates. Perform well, keep an open mind and show talent and initiative and you may just end up being asked to come back or remain for a full-time gig.

Has our break down whet your appetite? Check out Simply Hired’s internship opportunities for your chance to live the intern dream.